Electric toothbrush



June 3, 1969 J. .1. PICKERING ELECTRIC TOOTHBRUSH Sheet of 3 Filed Jan. 26, 1968 INVENTOR.

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ELECTRIC TOOTHBRUSH Filed Jan. 26, 1968 Sheet 3 of s INVEN TOR. uoh /v u. P/CKEE/A/G,

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June 3, 1969 J. J. PICKERING ELECTRIC TOOTHBRUSH Sheet Filed Jan. 26, 1968 [7/7]? /09 /2 0 69 7? FIG. 9. /9

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. M G Wm M z United States Patent US. C]. 1524 12 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An electric toothbrush consisting of a pistol grip handle attached to an elongated main casing having a toothpaste compartment and having a rotary toothbrush at the forward end of the casing. The rear end of the casing contains an electric motor. The toothpaste compartment is provided with a spring-urged abutment disc adapted to abut the rear piston portion of a container of toothpaste to squeeze the paste through a front nozzle provided on the container. The nozzle is connected by a flexible tube to a housing containing the rotary brush. A manuallycontrolled pinch valve acting on the flexible tube is provided to control the feeding of the toothpaste. The rear end of the main casing has an air blower leading to the space behind the spring-urged abutment disc. The electric motor is drivingly-connected both to the rotary toothbrush and the blower.

This invention relates to electric toothbrushes, and more particularly to an electric toothbrush of the type provided with a toothpaste supply reservoir and with means to feed toothpaste from the reservoir to the brush element of the toothbrush assembly.

A main object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved electric toothbrush which is relatively simple in construction, which is easy to manipulate, and which contains its own supply of dentifrice, with means for feeding the dentifrice to the brush element of the assembly during the operation thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved electric toothbrush which is compact in size, which is light in weight, which is easy to take apart for cleaning or for replacement of dentifrice, and which is provided with means for massaging the gums, as well as for cleaning the teeth.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved electric toothbrush of the type provided with its own toothpaste supply reservoir and with means for urging toothpaste from the reservoir to the brush element of the assembly, the device being inexpensive to fabricate, being sturdy in construction, being easy to keep clean, and providing economical utilization of the toothpaste employed therewith.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved electric toothbrush containing its own toothpaste reservoir and provided with means for conveniently and easily holding the toothbrush in proper position for use, the assembly also including manually-operated means for controlling the supply of toothpaste to the brush element thereof during operation of the device, and further including means for urging the toothpaste toward the brush element as the device is being used, whereby to make available a reliable and steady supply of toothpaste while the device is in use.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and claims, and from the accompanying drawings, wherein;

FIGURE 1 is a bottom plan view of an improved electric toothbrush constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal vertical cross-sectional view taken substantially on the line 2--2 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view, partly in vertical cross-section, of a toothpaste container employed with the electric toothbrush of FIGURES l and 2.

FIGURE 4 is an end elevational view of the electric toothbrush of FIGURES 1 and 2, taken substantially on the line 44 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 5 is a transverse vertical cross-sectional view taken substantially on the line 55 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 6 is a transverse vertical cross-sectional view taken substantially on the line 6-6 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view taken substantially on the line 7-7 of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 8 is a transverse vertical cross-sectional view taken substantially on the line 88 of FIGURE 7.

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary side elevational view, partly in vertical cross-section, showing a modified form of improved electric toothbrush constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary and elevational view of the modification of FIGURE 9, taken substantially on the line 1010 of FIGURE 9.

FIGURE 11 is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view taken substantially on the line 11-11 of FIG- URE 9.

FIGURE 12 is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view taken substantially on the line '1212 of FIG- URE 9.

FIGURE 13 is a fragmentary side elevational view, partly in vertical cross-section, showing the rear portion of an electric toothbrush according to the present invention and illustrating the manner in which the associated abutment disc push-rod is employed.

FIGURE 14 is a fragmentary transverse vertical crosssectional view taken substantially on the line 1414 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 15 is an enlarged transverse vertical crosssectional view taken substantially on the line 1515 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 16 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view taken substantially on the line 1616 of FIGURE 2.

Referring to the drawings, 17 generally designates an improved electric toothbrush constructed in accordance with the present invention. The electric toothbrush 17 comprises a handle portion '18 of the pistol grip type to which is detachably secured an elongated main casing or barrel portion 19 provided at its forward end with a housing member 20 which faces downwardly, as viewed in FIGURE 2, and which is longitudinally elongated to define a receptacle for the top portion of a longitudinallyextending rotary toothbrush member 21. Secured in the brush housing 20 and depending therefrom is a generally U-shaped skirt member 22 which flares outwardly and downwardly and which is made of suitable resiliently deformable material, such as rubber, or the like, so that it can be employed as a gum-massaging means. To facilitate such use, the bottom marginal portion of the massaging skirt member 22 is formed with spaced integral massaging projections 23, as is clearly shown in FIGURES 1 and 2.

As shown in FIGURE 1, the massaging skirt member 22 is generally U-shaped and is coextensive with the rotary brush member 21, projecting outwardly from the side and front portions of the bottom rim of housing 20 and extending sufficiently below the rotary brush element 21 so that it is engageable with the users gums while the brush element 21 is applied to the users teeth, as will be presently explained.

As shown in FIGURES 2 and 16, the brush housing 20 is connected to the forward end portion of the main body of casing 19 by a forwardly-convergent housing extension 24 which is open at its bottom and which has a downwardly and forwardly-inclined top wall merging with the top wall of the brush housing whereby the housing 20 is located in a position downwardly-offset from the center line of the main portion of casing 19, being offset sufiiciently so that the brush element 21 depends below the bottom horizontal plane of the main portion of casing 19, as viewed in FIGURE 2.

The casing 19 has a depending longitudinal bottom rib 25 in which is secured a longitudinal bearing sleeve 26 in which is journaled the longitudinally-extending rotary brush shaft element 27, the forward end portion of the shaft element having the brush element 21 secured thereon and being journaled at its end in the front wall of housing 20, as shown at 28.

The rear end of the shaft 27 is provided with an exposed coupling sleeve portion 29 formed with a squared axial bore in which is drivingly-engaged the squared end of a driving shaft element 30 forming part of and projecting from a conventional electric motor 31 mounted in the top portion of handle '18.

The motor 31 is seated in a cavity 32 provided therefor in the top portion of handle 18 and is fixed in position by means of a bracket 33 secured in the rear portion of the top of handle 18 and provided with a depending arm 34 through which a fastening screw 35 extends, said fastening screw being threadedly-engaged with motor 31, as is clearly shown in FIGURES 2 and 4 The top portion of handle 18 is further formed with a longitudinally-extending cylindrical cavity 36 in which is journaled a helical blower rotor element 37, the rotor element 37 being disposed in a suitable rotor casing 38 secured in the cavity 36, as shown in FIGURE 7. The rear end wall of casing 38 is formed with an aperture registering with an aperture 39 provided in the rear cover plate 40 of the top portion of handle 18, thus defining an air inlet for the blower assembly defined by casing 38 and rotor 37. The forward wall of casing 38 is formed with an outlet aperture 41 registering with a similar outlet aperture 42 formed in the forward wall of cavity 36 and leading to a gear caivty 43 provided in the forward end of the top portion of handle 18, the gear cavity 43 having an air outlet passage 44 leading to a forward recess 45 provided in the top portion of handle 18, as shown in FIGURE 7.

The shaft of the helical blower rotor 37 is provided with a pinion gear 46 which is drivingly-coupled to a drive gear 47 provided on the motor shaft 30 through an intermediate idler gear 48 journaled in the gear cavity 43, as shown in FIGURE 5.

The elongated barrel or casing 19 is formed with a generally cylindrical longitudinal bore 49 adapted to receive a generally cylindrical toothpaste container 50, presently to be described.

The toothpaste container 50 (see FIGURE 3) is removably-mounted in the cavity 49 and is provided with a pair of diametrically-opposed longitudinal grooves 51, 51 adapted to receive correspondingly-shaped ribs 52, 52 formed on the internal wall surface of recess 49 to hold the container 50 against rotation in the recess 49 after it has been inserted therein. As shown in FIGURE 14, the ribs 52, 52 are diametrically-opposed and are slidably-engageable in the correspondingly-shaped diametrically-opposed grooves 51, 51 of the container 50. The front end wall 53 of container 50 is provided with the central discharge conduit 54 which is engageable through a central aperture provided in the front end wall 55 of cavity 49, as shown in FIGURE 2. The container 50 is normally provided with a screw cover cap 56 threadedly-engageable on the conduit 54. As will be presently explained, when the container 50 is inserted in the cavity 49, the cover cap 56 is first removed. The conduit 54 is subsequently connected to a flexible toothpaste-discharge conduit 57 by means of a conventional screw coupling 58. The coupling collar 58 is provided on the flared rear end of conduit 57 and is adapted to clamp g yo nect he flared rear end of conduit 57 to the discharge conduit 54. The conduit 57 extends through an aperture in the forward end portion of the sloping top wall of casing extension 24 and extends through the central portion of the top wall of housing 20, terminating above and adjacent the intermediate portion of the rotary brush element 21, as shown in FIG- URE 2. A means is provided for at times cutting off the supply of toothpaste through the flexible conduit 57, said means comprising a clamping arm 59 overlying the conduit 57 and pivoted between a pair of pivot lugs 60, 60 located rearwardly of the aperture through which conduit 57 extends, as shown in FIGURE 16. A clamping link 61 in the form of a rectangular ring is provided, the top arm of the clamping ring transversely overlying the arm 59 and the side arms of the ring extending through apertures 62, 62 provided in the top wall of the casing extension 24. The bottom portion of the ring 61 is pivotally connected to a toggle link 63 pivotallymounted in the forward portion of casing extension 24 and provided with a rearwardly-extending actuating handle 64 accessible through the open bottom of the casing extension 24.

In the normal position of the actuating handle 64, as shown in FIGURE 2, the top armof the clamping ring 61 only loosely engages the clamping arm '59 and does not exert suflicient clamping force thereon to substantially constrict the paste-delivery conduit 57. However, when the operating handle 64 is pushed upwardly from the normal position thereof shown in FIGURE 2, it causes the toggle link member 63 ot be rotated in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIGURE 2, causing the ring 61 to be forced downwardly, whereby to exert clamping force on arm 59, which, in turn, clampingly acts on conduit 57 and constricts the same by squeezing it against the top wall of housing 20. Arm 64 may thus be elevated to a self-locking position, namely, to a position wherein the toggle arm- 63 has been rotated clockwise slightly past its dead-center position, in which position the top arm of ring 61 exerts a sufiicient downward force on the clamping arm 69 to pinch the conduit 57 substantially to a closed configuration, thus cutting off the supply of toothpaste through the flexible conduit 57. The clamping arm 59 may be subsequently released, if so desired, b pulling downwardly on the operating arm 64, whereby to return the toggle arm 63 to the normal position thereof shown in FIGURE 2, wherein the toggle arm has been rotated in a counterclockwise direction past its dead-center position into abutment with the rear end wall of toothbrush housing 20, and wherein the top arm of ring 61 no longer exerts clamping force on arm 59.

The container '50 is generally cylindrical in shape and has a relatively rigid cylindrical longitudinal wall merging with the transverse forward end wall 53, above-mentioned. The rear end of the container comprises a slidable piston element 65 which is inwardly-concave, as shown in FIG- URE 3. Secured to the piston element 65 is a rigid disc member 66 formed with a transverse groove 67. Normally, namely, prior to usage of the container, the disc member 66 is sealingly-connected to the inside surface of the rear end portion of the container 50 by a thin layer or film 68 of a frangible non-porous material, such as metal foil, plastic film, or the like. The sealing layer 68 may be readily fractured by the application of firm inward force on the disc member 66 in a manner presently to be described.

The rear end portion of barrel member 19 has secured thereto four equally-spaced longitudinally-extending lugs 69 which are slidably-engageable in correspondinglyshaped longitudinal grooves 70 formed in the forwardlyfacing recess or bore 45 provided in the forward top portion of handle member 18. A clamping ring 72 is threadedly-engaged in the bore 45, hearing on the lugs 69 to rigidly-fasten barrel member 19 in bore 71. The outer end of ring 72 is provided with a knurled flange 73- facilitating manual rotation of the ring when it is desired to either tighten or loosen the ring. As Will be readily apparent, when the ring is rotated sufliciently to disengage it from bore 45, the barrel member 19 may be withdrawn from th bore, providing access to the interior thereof for replacement of the toothpaste container 50, as will be presently described.

The rear end portion of barrel member 19 slidably-receives a forwardly-facing annular cup member 74 in which is seated the rear end of a coiled spring 75. The forward end of the coiled spring is received in a rearwardly-facing cup member 76, also slidably-receivable in the barrel member 19, whereby the forward cup member 76 is normally biased forwardly by the spring 75. The cup member 76 is formed with an integral transverse lug 77 which is nonrotatably-receivable in the groove 67 of the rear disc element 66 of a container 50, as shown in FIGURE 2.

The gear cavity 43 communicates through the passage 44 and the central aperture 79 of cup member 74 with the space between cup members 74 and 76. Thus, when motor 31 is energized, the helical blower impeller 37 rotates and develops air pressure which is transmitted to the space between members 74 and 76 and assists the spring 75 in urging the piston element 65 forwardly against the toothpaste 80 in the container 50 in a manner presently to be described.

A push rod 81 is provided for, at times, pushing the cup member 76 forwardly, for example, when it is desired to fracture the sealing film 68 after a new container 50 has been inserted in the device, or for, at other times, holding the cup member 76 in a retracted position against the force of the biasing spring 75, for example, when it is desired to detach the barrel member 19 for the purpose of replacing a toothpaste container 50. Thus, the top portion of handle member 18 is formed with a bore 82 in axial alignment with cavity 45 and with the central aperture 79 of cup member 74. The end plate 40 has an aperture 83 registering with bore 82 and normally covered by a headed cover plug 84 threadedly-engaged in the aperture 83, as shown in FIGURE 2. When the plug 84 is removed, the push rod 81 is insertable in the bore 82, said push rod being provided with a reduced threaded forward end portion 85 which is threadedly-engageable in a tapped recess 86 centrally-located in the cup member 76. The push rod 81 is provided at its rear end with a crossbar or handle 87 employed for manipulating the push rod. Thus, to break the seal element 68, the push rod 81 is inserted, in the manner above-described, and threadedly-engaged with cup member 76, after which the push rod may be pushed forwardly with sulficient force to rupture the sealing film 68. The push rod 81 may then be detached and the plug 84 may be replaced.

To retract the cup member 75, the push rod 81 is again connected thereto, in the manner above-described, and is pulled back, for example, to the position thereof shown in FIGURE 13. The intermediate portion of push rod 81 is formed with a series of peripheral grooves 88, serving as looking detents, in cooperation with a V-shaped locking spring 89 having aligned apertures in its leg portions through which the rod 81 is slidable when the leg portions are squeezed together. As shown in FIGURE 13, one leg portion is engageable against the end plate 40, whereas the other leg portion is urged outwardly by spring force and is lockingly-engageable with one of the peripheral grooves 88. The rod 81 may thus be pulled rearwardly, compressing the biasing spring 75, for example, to move member 76 to the position thereof shown in FIG- URE 13, and the rearmost arm of the spring 89 will lockingly-engage in one of the grooves 88 to hold the push rod 81 in its retracted position so that when the crossbar 87 is released, cup member 76 will be held in the position shown in FIGURE 13. This allows the barrel member 19 to be detached, for example, for the purpose of replacing a toothpaste container 50, as above-mentioned. After the new container has been inserted and the barrel member 19 again attached to handle portion 18, with the fresh toothpaste container mounted therein, the push rod 81 may be released by squeezing the rearmost arm of the locking spring 89 toward the forward arm thereof to disengage the spring from the locking groove 88 formerly engaged by the rearmost arm of the spring, whereby the coiled spring 75 is allowed to expand and to move cup member 76 forwardly so that its lug 77 may be engaged in the transverse groove 67 of the disc element 66 of the new container. If the device is not to be immediately used, the push rod 81 may then be detached from the cup member 76 by unscrewing same and replacing the plug 84 in the aperture 83. Subsequently, as above-explained, the push rod 81 may be re-inserted in order to employ the same for the purpose of breaking the seal of the container, namely, for rupturing the sealing film 68.

The clamping ring 72 is made of relatively resilient material and is provided with a radial split at 90 to facilitate the mounting of the ring 72 on the rear end portion of barrel 19, namely, to allow the ring to be sufficiently distorted to clear the lugs 69 when the ring is mounted on the barrel member. Thus, ring 72 may be formed of any suitable relatively flexible material, such as resilient metal, flexible plastic, or the like.

The electric motor 31 is of a conventional type adapted to be driven from any suitable source of low voltage, such as a battery 91 mounted in a suitable cavity 92 provided therefor in the handle member 18, the battery 91 being connected to the motor 31 in the conventional manner through a suitable control switch 93 diagrammatically illustrated in FIGURE 2. The device may be operated from a suitable alternating current outlet, if so desired, by the provision of conventional appropriate switching means, not shown, connecting the motor 31 to the external power receptacle through a line cord 94. Thus, the device may include a conventional charging rectifier connecting line cord 94 to the battery 91 so that the battery will be recharged when the line cord is plugged into a convenient alternating current receptacle while the device is not being used. It will, therefore, be understood that the power means for driving the motor 31 may be any suitable conventional means employed for devices of the same general type.

As above-explained, a container 50 of toothpaste may be inserted in the barrel member 19, after which the discharge conduit portion 54 of the container is connected to the flexible conduit 57 by means of the connector sleeve 58. The barrel is then fastened to the handle portion 18 by means of the clamping ring 72 with the lugs 69 received in the grooves 70, as above-explained, and with the shaft socket 29 receiving the squared end of the motor shaft 30. The container sealing film 68 may then be broken employing the push rod 81 in the manner above-described, the spring 89 being disengaged from the push rod to release the cup member 76, as above-described, to allow its lug 77 to engage in the transverse groove 67 of disc member 66 of the container. After the sealing element 68 has been broken, the push rod 81 is removed and the aperture 83 is covered by the plug 84. The device is now ready for use.

In using the apparatus, the switch 93 is operated to energize the motor 31, whereby the motor shaft 30 drives the rotary brush element 21, at the same time, driving the helical blower impeller 37 to build up air pressure in the barrel chamber containing the coiled spring 75. The air pressure combines with the force of coiled spring 75 to urge piston element 65 forwardly and to force toothpaste through the conduit 57 and to deliver the toothpaste onto the rotating brush element 21. The supply of toothpaste to the brush element may be cut off, as desired, by pushing upwardly on the control lever 64, which rotates toggle link 63 in a clockwise direction, as above-explained, causing the rectangular loop 61 to exert clamping force on the clamping arm 59 to seal ofi conduit 57. In using the device, the rotary brush element 21 is held against the teeth, and the adjacent gums may be massaged by means of the flexible U-shaped massaging skirt member 22, as above-described.

As above-explained, when it is necessary to refill the device, the cup element 76 is retracted by means of the push rod 81 and retained in the retracted position of FIG- URE 13 by means of the detent spring member 89. The barrel member 19 may then be detached and refilled with a new container, as above-described.

As shown in FIGURE 7, a removable cover plate 95 is provided on the handle portion 18 Which provides access, when removed, to the battery 91.

In the modification illustrated in FIGURES 9, 10, 11 and 12, the driving electric motor, shown at 31, is mounted in a cavity 32 provided in the top portion of the handle member, shown at 18', and is geearingly-coupled to a shaft element 30 provided with a squared end received in the toothbrush shaft socket 29. The shaft 30 is journaled in handle portion 18 and is gearingly-coupled to the motor shaft, which is tubular, as shown at 96, and is arranged axially relative to the barrel member 19. The toothbrush drive gear, shown at 97, is gearingly-coupled to a pinion gear 98 formed integrally on the forward end portion of shaft 96 by means of an idler gear 99 journaled in a gear cavity 100 provided in the upper forward portion of handle portion 18'. Mounted on the rear end portion of the tubular motor shaft 96 are a series of rotary impeller vanes 102 which rotate in a blower cylinder 103 mounted in the rear upper portion of handle member 18. An apertured cover plate 40 is secured on the upper rear portion of handle member 18', said cover plate having the air inlet apertures 104 for admitting air into the impeller housing 103.

The impeller discs 102 are provided with auxiliary ventilation apertures 107 adapted to register with ventilation openings 105 provided in cover plate 40 to admit air int the central portion of the blower housing 103 and to transmit the air to the interior space 108 of motor 31' to provide cooling and ventilation of the motor. Blower passages 109 are provided around motor 31 to convey air from the blower housing 103 to the interior of barrel member 19, as shown in FIGURE 9. The forward end of the housing of mtor'31 is provided with apertures 110 allowing the ventilating air from the motor to pass into the lower passages 109 and flow to the barrel member 19, contributing to the air pressure build-up in the barrel cooperating with spring 75 to exert forward force on piston element 65 to urge the toothpaste 80 through the discharge conduit 57 in the manner above-described.

Normally, the rear end of the tubular motor shaft 96 is covered by the headed plug 84, as shown in FIGURE 9. Said rear end of the tubular shaft is rotatably-supported in a bearing aperture provided therefor in the cover plate 40. The plug 84 may be unscrewed and removed when it is desired to employ the push rod 81, the push rod being engage-able through the tubular motor shaft 96 so that it may be connected with the cup member 76 in the same manner as described above in connection with the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGURES l and 2.

What is claimed is:

1. A power-driven toothbrush comprising an elongated main body provided at its rear end with a handle portion and at its forward end with a brush housing portion, a brush rotatably-mounted in said brush housing portion, an electric motor mounted in said handle portion, powertransmission means drivingly-coupling the motor and the brush, a dentifrice receptacle mounted in said main body, conduit means communicatively-connecting said dentifrice receptacle to said brush housing portion, fluid pressure-actuated dentifrice ejection means in said dentifrice receptacle, and means operatively-connecting said powertransmission means to said dentifrice ejection means.

2. The power-driven toothbrush of claim 1, and wherein said dentifrice ejection means comprises a plunger element in said dentifrice receptacle and means to apply fluid under pressure to said plunger element in a direction to force dentifrice through said conduit means.

3. The power-driven toothbrush of claim 2, and wherein said dentifrice receptacle extends longitudinally in said main body and has a bore of substantially constant crosssectional shape, said plunger element being slidable in said bore and the conduit means being connected to the forward end of the receptacle.

4. The power-driven toothbrush of claim 3, and spring means biasing the plunger element forwardly in said bore.

5. The power-driven toothbrush of claim 3, and wherein said means to apply fluid under pressure to said plunger element comprises an air blower mounted in said handle portion and communicatively-connected to the rear end of said bore.

6. The power-driven toothbrush of claim 5, and wherein said bore is provided with an abutment element rearwardly-adjacent and engageable with said plunger element, and spring means biasing said abutment element forwardly into engagement with said plunger element.

7. The power-driven toothbrush of claim 6, and interlocking means on the abutment element and plunger element preventing relative rotation thereof.

8. The power-driven toothbrush of claim 6, and wherein the handle portion is detachable from said main body, and means to at times hold the abutment element in a retracted position against the biasing force of said spring means, whereby to allow replacement of the dentifrice receptacle when the handle portion is detached from said main body.

9. The power-driven toothbrush of claim 8, and wherein said handle portion includes a longitudinal passageway, and said means to hold the abutment element retracted comprises a rod insertable through said passageway and being lockingly-engageable with said abutment element.

10. The power-driven toothbrush of claim 5, and manually-operated valve means mounted on the main body adjacent to and cooperable with said conduit means to control the flow of dentifrice therethrough.

11. The power-driven toothbrush of claim 10, and wherein said conduit means comprises a flexible conduit connecting the forward end of the dentifrice receptacle to the intermediate portion of the brush housing portion, and wherein said valve means comprises a pivoted arm on the main body clampingly-engageable with said flexible conduit.

12. The power-driven toothbrush of claim 5, and a resiliently-deformable skirt member secured to said brush housing portion and depending therefrom adjacent the brush to define a gum massaging member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,195,537 7/1965 Blasi. 3,235,897 2/1966 Fortenberry 1524 FOREIGN PATENTS 520,468 1/1956 Canada.

EDWARD L. ROBERTS, Primary Examiner. 

